LAUSD school buses are going green

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The standard yellow paint on the fleet of 78 new school buses conceals a secret: They've all gone green.

Starting Monday, some students heading to summer school will ride on the first of Los Angeles Unified's new line of propane-powered school buses in a citywide effort to reduce carbon emissions.

Student Transportation of America, a provider of school bus services, and Delta Liquid Energy, a California-based propane marketer, unveiled the buses at a state-of-the art refueling station in North Hollywood.

"Propane is a wonderful fuel. These new buses are a great example of what is a viable and cleaner alternative to traditional fuels," said JoAnn Armenta, a clean city coordinator with the Department of Energy.

Propane was chosen because it is cleaner-burning than gasoline and domestically available - cutting the demand for oil and reducing U.S. reliance on foreign suppliers.

The buses, which produce up to 80 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, will allow kids to be ferried to and from school in an eco-friendly manner. The new buses also have GPS systems which provide engine idle time reports and data for possible route improvement, and also meet stringent 2010 emission standards.

Delta Liquid Energy President Bill Platz has been advocating the use of propane for vehicles for more than 25 years. "The beauty of propane is that it is domestic to America and has the lowest greenhouse emissions," said Platz as he introduced the new station.

The new refueling station, a vacant lot just last December, boasts a 15,000-gallon propane storage tank with four refueling dispensers.

"This new fueling station is safe, environmentally friendly and fast-filling, with the capacity to fill four buses at the same time," said Ted Olsen, a DLE manager.

Among the state-of-the-art features at the station is a microwave receiver atop the massive white propane tank. When propane dips below 5,000 gallons, the receiver sends a signal to DLE headquarters, which dispatches a tanker truck to refill the station.

Akbar Muhammad, a Student Transportation of America manager, has worked on the project since its inception last year.

"We've been working hard to get all these buses running in time for summer school. It's exciting to finally see this day here," Muhammad said.

DLE received the contract from Student Transportation due to its long history of using propane as a transportation fuel. The company was able to complete the installation of the new facility three months after receiving the contract. Student Transportation expects all 78 buses to be up and running by sometime after Labor Day, when LAUSD's traditional school year begins.